Female journalists’ presence in media on decline: Survey

KABUL (Pajhwok): A new survey released on Monday said the presence of women journalists in Afghanistan has decreased due to insecurity.

Conducted by the Center for the Protection of Afghan Women Journalist (CPAWJ), the survey was presented at an event attended by officials of Independent Afghanistan Human Rights Commission (IAHRC), Ministry of Information and Culture, and head of the Reporters without Borders.

The survey shows the number of female journalists decreased in the country in recent years, particularly in the past two years.

The report says insecurity was cited as main reason preventing women from joining the field. Female journalists face more security threats and harassment at workplace than their male colleagues.

CPAWJ conducted interviews with 74 local media outlets across the country, including 29 TV channels, 35 radio stations, four news agencies, six printing media and four journalists supporting groups.

A total of 1037 women work in media outlets and 474 of them are professional, the source said, adding Kabul, Herat and Balkh provinces are main hubs of journalists.

The report says most of female journalists (150) work with the Moby Group, 140 with the National Radio and Television, 55 with Aryana Network, 54 with Zan TV, 50 with Bano Radio and Television, 40 with Killid Group, 40 with Shamshad Radio and Television and 38 with Khurshid Television.

Lack of official statistics remains a major problem in Afghanistan, the source said.

“The official data on women journalists in the country helps with knowing their exact number and it is also considered as the first step towards recognizing problems women face at workplace and in the society.” CPAWJ said.

Farida Nekzad, CPAWJ head, said: “So far no data on the number of women journalists and those work with media outlets in Afghanistan has been officially released by any government sources. CAPWJ tried to provide and release accurate data on the number of women journalists through various channels.”

“We know the given data is not complete and it is a minor step towards this goal and hereby we request all journalists and institutes that work for the support of journalists to help complete this data,” she added.

Sima Samar, AIHRC head, said spreading information was the role of media that make positive changes in a society. The media should avoid publishing information that created tensions and disruption, she added.

“The media role is very important for ending violence. Signing peace agreements would not help until media provides accurate information to the public,” she said.

About violence against women journalists, she said, “Women who face harassment including sexual cannot provide proper information, the culture of violence against journalists should end.”